


from your secret santa

by avengersincamphalfbloodstardis



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cute, Falling In Love, Fluff, Food, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Foodie Steve Rogers, Friendship, Getting to Know Each Other, Gift Exchange, Gift Giving, Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Avengers (2012), Secret Santa, Steve Rogers Uses Instagram, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 12:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21969163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengersincamphalfbloodstardis/pseuds/avengersincamphalfbloodstardis
Summary: The year is 2012 and all of the Avengers have moved into the tower. The holidays are coming up and it's the perfect time for each teammate to get to know another as well as they can. So of course, they do secret santa. When Tony gets Steve, he panics. How is he supposed to find a gift for the amazing Captain America?
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 20
Kudos: 148
Collections: 2019 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange





	from your secret santa

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SevereLove51](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SevereLove51/gifts).



> This is my gift for [SevereLove51](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SevereLove51/pseuds/SevereLove51) for the [2019 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange](http://cap-ironman.tumblr.com/ask)! I was so excited to see your prompt list and immediately wrote as fast as my hand could move across the paper. This era is one of my favorites to write and it was so sweet to go along with Tony as he tried to figure out his gift. I really hope you like it!

“Why,” Tony drawled. “Are we doing secret santa, exactly?”

“Team building exercise,” Natasha said, her eyebrows twitching upward in a way that Tony couldn’t decide was sardonic or not. “Focus on a teammate and work to get them something they’d like.” 

“Are my constant upgrades not enough for you people?” Tony demanded, waving his hand in the air.

“Nothing business related,” Buce said.

“It must be a gift of friendship,” Thor added, looking more devilish than a god should. “This will be fun.”

“Hmmph,” Tony said, unconvinced. He looked to Rogers. “I suppose this was your idea then, Capsicle?”

Rogers’ gaze flickered to him and then back down to his shoes. “Actually, no.”

“It was mine,” Natasha said, and okay, now Tony was definitely sure she was fucking with him.

“Christ,” Tony said, giving up. “Fine, give me the hat or whatever it is we’re picking names out of.”

“Wait your turn,” Natasha chided, offering a bowl to Clint.

Tony rolled his eyes his eyes, but settled back, watching Clint grab his name out of the bowl and move back, like a bird grabbing a crumb of bread. 

Bruce went next, then Thor, then Steve, then Natasha took a name before offering it to Tony.

He snatched up the last name, giving her a look for making him go last, and unfolded it.

_ Steve _

He stared at the paper for a long time as everyone else read their own names, his heart thudding irregularly as it sunk in. 

Tony looked over to Steve, who was studying his own piece of paper. He was going to be the famous Captain America’s secret santa.

Well, fuck.

***

“Why do I have to help you?” Rhodey asked, sparing Tony a glance through the video call.

“Because I can’t ask any of the others,” Tony whined. “Or they’ll know who I have.”

“Ask Pepper,” Rhodey replied, going back to his work. 

“She’s in charge of buying presents for all of the rest of the people I won’t remember to do anything for.”

“So how does that make this my problem?” Rhodey asked, clearly checked out of the entire situation.

“Because I need your help, sugar bear,” Tony said, pulling up schematics. “What would the great Captain America like?”

Rhodey sighed deeply and turned away from his work to look Tony in the eye. “See, that’s your problem. You’re going about this the wrong way.”

“What are you talking about?” Tony asked.

“You’re trying to think of a present for Captain America,” Rhodey said. “And you’re not gonna find a gift good enough for him. Try thinking about what  _ Steve Rogers _ would like.”

Tony blinked dumbly at him. “They’re the same person.”

Rhodey sighed again and looked back to him. “No they’re not Tones. One is the guy your dad compared you to your whole childhood and you grew up resenting. And one is just a guy who found himself in a new place and might need a friend.”

Tony stared at him for a long time.

When he still didn’t speak, Rhodey went back to his work again. “Just make an effort to get to know Steve instead of Cap, okay? Get to know the man behind the shield.”

“Got it,” Tony said weakly, his brain seemingly spinning a million at one cogs and somehow stuttering to a halt all at once. “Thanks Platypus.”

“You got it, Tones.”

***

After his talk with Rhodey, Tony began to pay attention. He noticed what time Steve went for a run in the morning and when he got back. He noticed what Steve watched when he managed to wrestle the remote from Clint. (Tony had, like,  _ ten _ living rooms, why did they insist on fighting over one?) He noticed what books Steve picked up from Tony’s own shelves and what he came back with from the library. (The man was apparently all about supporting libraries.) He noticed what the man  _ ate  _ for God’s sake, taking note of his takeout orders and what he cooked.

It got to the point where, if Steve was doing something, Tony would slink into the room and keep track in person. When Steve got back from a run, Tony would be in the kitchen with a cup of coffee to watch while Steve drank his water. He watched countless movies with the man, things he hadn’t seen in years, reruns from things he’d seen bits and pieces of, shows he’d never heard of. He googled the menus of the places that delivered to their front door, tried a nibble of what Steve ordered, taste tested what he cooked. 

“Hey,” Steve said one morning, breaking Tony out of his concentration in cataloguing his latest Steve observations. “You hungry?”

“I-what?” Tony said, blinking.

Steve’s smile was small, amused. “I asked if you were hungry. I found a great bagel place that I think you would like. And I could go for some breakfast.”

It took Tony awhile to catch up.

“What about your run?” he bluted without thinking, revealing more than he wanted to about his Steve centric knowledge.

Instead of questioning that, Steve just shrugged. “I’d skip it for you.”

_ For you.  _ Huh.

“Okay,” Tony said. “Let’s go.”

He let Steve take th elead, somewhat bewildered by the turn of events, though he wasn’t complaining. 

“I don’t know if you’ve been there before,” Steve said casually, falling into step with Tony as they hit the sidewalk. “I know it’s not like I actually  _ discovered  _ it.” He smiled wryly. “But it’s good, so I wanna share it.”

“Right,” Tony said, part of him still confused as to why Steve looked at him and thought  _ yes, this is the man I want to eat a bagel with. _ “Well, I’m glad you’re not going into this with a Christopher Columbus point of view.”

Steve barked a laugh, startling Tony with how nice it sounded. “At least there’s that.”

They reached a green building that Tony had not, in fact, been to before, with a sign above it that said, “Timely’s Bagels.”

Steve held the door open for Tony and they entered into the best smelling bagel joint Tony had ever smelled.

“Steve!” a voice called from behind the counter. Then, a girl with curly hair pulled back into a fluffy ponytail and a huge smile threw her whole arm into the air to wave at Steve. “Hi!”

“Hi Riri!” Steve called back, waving at her, then smiling sheepishly when the other customers turned to see who their cashier was so enthusiastic about.

“You  _ do _ really like this place,” Tony noted. “If you’re here often enough to know her.”

“Yeah, I really do,” Steve said with a smile. “Good bagels and Riri’s great. She’s going to be an engineer.”

“Interesting,” Tony said, making a note to himself to ask Riri where she was studying. “Do you have a regular?”

“I have a favorite I order the most,” Steve said as they moved up in the line. “But I like to try a lot of different things when I can.” 

“Oh yeah?” Tony said. “Are you a foodie, Steve?”

“What’s a foodie?” Steve asked, looking to him.

Toy’s first reaction was to tease a little bit, but something in Steve’s expression stopped him short. It was so open, curious, interested. He trusted Tony enough to ask him this question without fear of ridicule or rejection.

“It’s someone who really likes food,” Tony explained. “Trying new kinds and all that. Some take pictures of their food or themselves eating it and post it on social media.”

“Sounds like me for the first part,” Steve said, a smile growing across his face. Delight in his voice, he called past the line. “Hey Riri! I’m a foodie!”

“Sweet!” Riri’s voice echoed back, a thumbs up appearing in the air above the heads of the customers.

Steve laughed and Tony surprised himself by joining in.

“Hey there,” Riri said when they got to the front. “Who’s your—” She cut off, eyes going wide. “Shit. Tony Stark.”

Normally, Tony would have flashed a smile and said something like “in the flesh” or “you know it.” But this was someone important to Steve, a girl who wanted to be an engineer, not someone more interested in his money than his accomplishments. So instead, he held a hand out. “Nice to meet you Riri. Steve says you’re going to be an engineer.”

She grinned hugely and shook his hand. “That’s right! I loved your schematics you released last month for a faster moving train system.”

“That was a fun project,” Tony said, the genuineness in her voice making him smile. “You should come to the tower some time and see other designs.”

“Oh my God, yes,” Riri breathed, practically trembling with excitement.

“Got a phone on you?” Tony asked.

Riri practically threw her phone at him as she fumbled to get it out and unlock it for him.

He tapped out a number, saved it, and handed it back to her. “Text that number and we’ll get you set up with a visit, okay?”

“Thank you so much,” she said, hugging her phone to her chest. “Oh!” She shoved her phone back in her pocket. “You want to order, I’m sorry.”

“You’re fine Riri, don’t apologize,” Steve said, smiling at Tony in a warm way he couldn’t quite decipher.

“Trying something new, Steve?” she asked, grinning up at him.

“Actually, I think I’ll get my favorite,” Steve replied.

“Make that two,” Tony added.

He was rewarded with a pleased smile, Steve’s eyes crinkling. “You don’t even know what it is.”

“Yeah, but you like it,” Tony said. “So it’ll be good.”   


Steve’s grin was pleased and crooked as Riri gave them their number and they got a seat by the window.

Another server came out moments after they took their seats, setting a plate and mug in front of each of them before disappearing.

On the plates, a thick bagel with a nearly inch of creamy look cream cheese and thickly sliced, succulent smoked salmon. Coffee steamed in the cups beside their plates, dark and warm smelling.

Tony’s mouth watered. He reached for a piece but stopped when Steve said, “Hang on.”

Steve was smiling, his phone in his hand. “If I’m going to be a foodie, I have to take a picture.”   


Tony chuckled and pulled his hand back. “Fair enough.”   


To his surprise, instead of focusing the camera on just the food, Steve held the food up to take a selfie of the two of them.

Steve smiled broadly and took the picture, turning to Tony with a little pink in his cheeks. “Do you mind if I post that? Nat showed me how to use Instagram.”

“Not at all,” Tony said, picking the bagel up. “You can even tag me.”

Picking up his own bagel, Steve gave him a pleased smile, and cheersed their bagels together.

***

“Nice picture,” Natasha said as Tony walked into the living room with his Starkpad and a cup of coffee.

“What?” Tony asked thickly.

Clint snickered, sprawled across Natasha’s lap, remote dangling from his hand.

“I said, “nice picture,”” Natasha repeated, a smile playing at her lips.

“What picture?” Tony asked as he sat, sipping his coffee.

“Dude,” Clint said, not looking at him. “Check your Insta notifs.”

“How hard is it to say the whole word?” Tony asked, pulling his phone out. He tapped the app and went to the notifications tab. They looked about the same as usual; a million and one likes still racking up on his last picture of Pepper receiving an award for business practices. “Okay, what am I supposed to be looking at?  
Natasha sighed and grabbed the phone, muttering about the cons of being famous.Once she found what she was looking for, she handed the phone back.

On the screen was a post from the handle  _ steverogers _ , and the picture was very familiar.

It was Steve and Tony from that morning at breakfast. Steve was smiling at the camera, looking all-American, happy, loveable. And Tony... Tony was smiling at Steve.

“Ah,” he said, his own voice sounding distant.

Beside him, Natasha and Clint cackled like hyenas, far too pleased at Tony’s misfortune. 

***

After breakfast, Tony found himself invited out to a new restaurant every other day, eating taking the nights in between. He’d had different sorts of food his whole life, what with all of his travelling and fancy dinners. But he’d never tried so many different tastes in such a short period of time, discovering new flavors every day.

“Tony,” Steve said, flopping onto the couch beside him with such ease and familiarity it made Tony’s breath catch. He held his phone aloft for Tony to see, a YouTube video playing. “Look at this.”

Tony watched as hands stirred something sizzling in a large skillet, the picture quality of the food good enough to make his mouth water. “Looks great, Steve, what is it?”

“Paella,” Steve said, his eyes shining with excitement. “I really want to try it.”   


“I’ll look up a place that has it on the menu,” Tony said, reaching for his phone.

“Actually,” Steve said, putting a hand on Tony’s arm and stopping him short. “This video shows you how to make it. I thought maybe we could make it together?”

He smiled at Tony so hopefully that Tony suddenly remembered his conversation with Rhodey in full detail. These pleading, hopeful eyes were all Steve Rogers—no Captain America about them. How could Tony even think of saying no?

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Sounds like fun.”

The happiness on Steve’s face outweighed the nerves Tony felt at the apprehension of displaying his lack of cooking skills in front of him.

***

God curse YouTube videos that made cooking look easy. Tony had practically been born with a welder in his hand, and he was pretty sure he’d never understand how someone minced garlic so finely.

His only soother was the little wrinkle in Steve’s brow as he focused intently, just as inept at this as Tony was.

“Okay,” Steve said. “Okay, we can do this. We’ll just have to slow.”

“Right,” Tony said dubiously. “Well, lead on Chef. Consider me your sous chef.”

“Well, if you’re willing to be under me,” Steve said lightly, turning away to pull open a drawer and retrieve some utensils. “Then you can get the butter and the tomatoes.”

“Got it,” Tony said, just a second before stopping short. Had Steve really just said... He looked over his shoulder to see the back of Steve’s neck and ears a light pink.

He  _ did _ know what he’d just said, seemingly on purpose. It couldn’t be flirting... could it?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts and got to work.

After awhile, it was nice to be with Steve like this while they worked, slow and methodical. Tony glanced to his left out of the corner of his eye to see Steve smiling soft as he stirred the gently bubbling tomato and rice concoction. The soft happiness on Steve’s face made something warm in Tony’s stomach.

As they both reached for a spice, their hand brushed and they laughed softly.

“This is nice,” Tony said, pushing the spice to Steve. “I don’t usually cook.”

Steve’s smile was soft but his eyes were lit up from the inside, clearly pleased. “Me neither. Thanks for saying yes.”

“Any time,” Tony said casually, looking back to his task of cutting the peppers. “I could always stand to ensure there are more vegetables in this house.”

Steve laughed, the joyful noise echoing around the kitchen as he threw his head back. “God, I don’t think I’ve seen Clint eat a vegetable the entire time I’ve known him.”

“Hey, I like healthy food,” Clint said, appearing at the sound of his name as if he was summoned, ambling into the kitchen. His words were negated by the presence of a twinkie hanging out of his mouth. He peered into the pan with the paella in it. “What’s for dinner?”   


“Who said you get any?” Tony snarked, moving closer to Steve as if they could protect their meal from one feral avenger, let alone if said avenger decided to call reinforcements.

“Um, the fact that your recipe looks like it feeds twelve,” Clint shot back, grinning as he bit into the twinkie. “C’mon, you’re really gonna keep all of this to yourselves? You order enough for the whole team on takeout nights.”

“You’ll get some,” Steve said, poking Clint in the side with a wooden spoon. “Now get out of here and tell the others so we can finish up.”

With a pleased cackle, Clint left, on his way to round up the others. “Thanks mom and dad!”   


A deep flush filled Tony’s cheeks. Had Steve caught that? Would he be weirded out by it? Doing his best to remain casual about it, he surveyed Steve, trying to gauge his reaction.

Feeling eyes on him, Steve looked up from stirring the paella and smiled. “Who’s mom and who’s dad, do you think?”

Tony barked a relieved laugh. “I’ll let you call dibs.”

Steve ducked his chin and smiled, stirring the paella slowly. Tony came to stand by him, looking at their creation, their shoulders bumping gently.

***

As Tony came back from lunch with Steve, a sushi place that supposedly had the best bibimbop you could get in the area, he passed Clint and Natasha lounging in the living room.

“How was Yuzu?” Natasha called to him as he went, delight infused in her voice. Resting his cheek on her thigh, Clint giggled maniacally into her lap.

Tony stopped, feeling a strange dread at her words. “How do you know we went to Yuzu?”   


“Oh you didn’t know?” Clint asked, a sly lilt to his words. “Steve said he had just the _best_ time with you, trying different noodle dishes. Looked like such a fun time.”  
Tony turned on his heel, levelling them with his best threatening look, which probably had no effect. “We just got back, how could you possibly know that?”

“Check Insta,” Clint said in the same sing-song voice as before.

Tony fumbled for his phone, pulling up the application. 

He had a new notification, one that said he’d been tagged in a photo by  _ steverogers _ , and he came to take a seat beside the pair as he tapped it.

The picture that Steve had taken at the restaurant popped up; the two of them sat in front of different noodle bowls, and an assortment of sushi rolls, leaning into each other. 

This time, while Tony smiled up at the camera, Steve’s gaze wasn’t there with him, or on the food.

It was on Tony, eyes soft, smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

Tony stared at the picture for a long moment.

Beneath it, comments by the thousands were already racking up, the top one from the handle  _ natasharomanoff _ ; get a room. 

Scrolling through the rest of Steve’s pictures revealed the pictures of their different taste tests, all featuring Tony in some way. Tony showing the camera the food, Tony sitting close to Steve and holding up a bite for him to try, Tony with his own bite bulging in his cheek.

Each picture was accompanied by other comments with the same theme as Natasha’s. Telling them they were a cute couple. Asking if they were official yet. And then, there was one that caught Tony’s eye.

_ imagine a cookbook with all of the things cap has posted them trying lol _

“What’s the date?” Tony demanded, not looking up from the comment.

“December 21st,” Natasha answered, eyebrow raised. “Why?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tony said, jumping up from his seat and hitting his contact information as he practically ran to the lab. “Rhodey? You busy?”

***

Christmas morning arrived, along with the arrival of piles of presents under the enormous Christmas tree in the living room.

“Didn’t we agree to just do secret santa?” Tony asked, sipping his coffee as Natasha distributed presents.

“Sort of sneaky to say as someone who funded most of these presents,” she said, handing him one. “Even if Pepper picked them out.”

Tony grinned and accepted the present. “So we’re doing secret santas later?”

Natasha raised one eyebrow. “I already gave Clint my gift this morning.”   


“Yeah you did,” Clint said with a grin.

“Gross,” Bruce and Steve said in unison.

“Natasha has already received my secret santa present,” Thor said, shaking the present by his ear gently.

“And I loved that set of knives,” she answered. “Thank you Thor.”

“You are most welcome.”

“So we’re not opening secret santa presents in front of each other?” Tony asked, fingers worrying at the handle of his mug.

Bruce shrugged. “Those can be more private. They are supposed to be something you got after really getting to know someone after all.”

“Okay,” Tony said, nodding. “Okay, cool.”

Wrapping paper began to fly after his words, Clint and Thor shredding it with abandon.

Steve came to sit beside Tony, smiling shyly.

“Hey,” he said softly, bumping his shoulder gently against Tony’s. “Um... you think you could come up to the roof tonight? About eight o’clock?”

Tony’s heart skipped an entire beat as a smile fluttered onto his face. “Sure. It’s a date.”

Steve beamed at him. “Okay. It’s a date.”

***

“He’s gonna love it,” Rhodey reassured him. “It’s a good present, Tones.”   


Tony fidgeted with his cufflinks, taking a deep breath. “I said it was a date! I just said it was a date, how could I just say that?”   


“Yeah, but he didn’t get mad at you,” Rhodey said patiently. “He wasn’t upset about it.”   


Tony paused. “He said it back.”

“He said it back?”   


“He said it back.”

“He said it back!”

“Oh my God,” Tony gasped. “Is it a date?”

“It’s a date, Tones,” Rhodey said firmly. “Go get your man, okay?”

“Fuck,” Tony took a deep breath. “Okay, okay, I’m going. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“You got it. Merry Christmas Tones.”

“Merry Christmas, Platypus.”

Once they hung up, Tony took another deep breath, situating the suit he wore and tucking present under his arm.

The elevator seemed far too slow for what Tony was on his way to; he practically danced nervously in there, wishing to already be at the rooftop.

Finally, the doors opened and Tony inhaled sharply.

In front of him, there was a little table covered in a white tablecloth, two long tapered candles glowing in the middle. Plates were set on either side, little covers on top hiding what was behind them.

Steve stood beside it, blush turning his cheeks deep pink as he smiled shyly at Tony. “Merry Christmas from your secret santa.”

A shocked laugh tumbled past Tony’s lips as he walked out of the elevator towards him. “What is all this?”

Steve’s grin widened and he reached a hand out. Tony met his halfway, their fingers meeting and curling together.

“I made us dinner,” Steve said, the blush spreading down his cheeks to his neck. “Based on... um, based on some things we’ve eaten together in the past.”

Tony’s eyes sparkled as Steve guided him to the table, pulling his seat out for him.

“Such a gentleman,” Tony murmured as he sat, smiling up at Steve.

If Steve blushed any deeper, he was going to lose all blood from the rest of his body. He lifted the covers from the plates and set them aside, revealing the aromas of the food on the plate. The pink of a salmon fillet glistened next to a scoop of paella, sending delicious fumes up to Tony’s nostrils.

“ _ Steve _ ,” Tony said, emotion clouding his voice. “You made this for us?”

“I did,” Steve said proudly. “Salmon for our first meal out together. And paella for the first dinner we cooked together.”

“ _ Steve _ ,” Tony said again, nearly choking up. “That’s—wow. That’s amazing. Thank you.”

He looked up to Steve, eyes shining. “Thank you so much, Steve. I love it.”

“You’re welcome,” Steve said. He reached across the table and took Tony’s hand. Their fingers laced together carefully, each of them watching the movement unfold. “I... I really wanted to show you how much it meant to me, spending time together. I love spending time with you.”

“I love spending time with you too, Steve,” Tony said softly. “When we joined the group, I honestly didn’t see this coming. I’m glad,” Tony’s mouth twisted in a humorous smile. “I’m glad Natasha made us do secret santa.”

Steve laughed softly. “Me too.”

They looked to each other for a long moment, words going unspoken between them.

“Eat up,” Steve said after some time had passed, blushing again. “Before it gets cold.”   


Tony obeyed, taking a bite and groaning immediately. “Steve, oh my god, it’s amazing.”

The blush on Steve’s cheeks deepened and he grinned, pleased. “Is it?”

“Spectacular,” Tony said, taking another bite, keeping himself from inhaling it. “God, you’re such a good cook.”

Steve practically lit up at Tony’s words, taking his own bite. “I’m glad you like it.”

They ate quietly together, savoring the time together, the food, the bump of their knees under the table.

When the food had disappeared, Tony moved his chair closer to Steve. “I’m your secret santa too, you know.”

Steve’s smile was small, like he was in on a secret. “I may have put two and two together.”

“I wasn’t sure what to get you for so long,” Tony confessed, bringing the wrapped present to his lap. “But I... I think you’ll like this.”   


“I’m sure I’ll love it Tony,” Steve said fervently. “Because it’s from you.”

Tony ducked his head and smiled before looking back up to Steve and placing the present in his lap. “Open it.”

Steve shifted his chair so they were facing each other, their knees pressed together, the table beside them. His fingers slid beneath the wrapping paper that Tony had folded meticulously as Rhodey watched on and instructed. 

It fell to the floor and revealed a small white box that Steve lifted the lid off of.

Steve’s eyes shone as he lifted the book out of the box. “Steve and Tony’s Food Adventure.”

“I hope you don’t mind that I kind of borrowed your pictures to make your gift,” Tony said, nervous smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “You’re listed with photographer’s credit if that helps.”   


Steve laughed in a soft burst, holding the book like he was afraid of breaking it.

“Written by Tony Stark,” he whispered. “Photography by Steve Rogers.” He traced a hand over the title before flipping it open to reveal the different pages inside.

Each had a picture from Steve’s Instagram, information on where they had eaten, screenshots of menus. And then, accompanying these facets, Tony wrote a paragraph for each.

Steve’s fingers found the first page, with the picture of Tony smiling at him, bagels in front of him.

“Steve,” he read aloud, voice raspy and just above a whisper. “This was our first meal together in a place that would become our regular spot. It is also one of the meals of my life that has meant the most to me, because it brought us to where we are today. I’m glad we’ll eat bagels at Timely’s again and again.”

He looked up to Tony, eyes shining with happy tears that threatened to spill over. “You made this for me?”

It was Tony’s turn to blush. “Yeah,” he murmured. “I was looking at your Instagram and I realized... I was really glad you documented all of that. I know it’s because you’re a foodie now—” He laughed wetly. “But it’s nice to look at our time together.

It was quiet for one minute as Steve looked at him, broad hands cradling the book. Then, he delicately closed it, bringing it to his chest, and reached out for Tony. He slipped his palm to the back of Tony’s head, fingers threading through his hair, leaned in, and kissed him.

The angle wasn’t perfect and Tony had never cared about anything less. 

He was finally kissing those soft pink lips he’d stared at over so many dinners, finally holding the man he’d spent so much time with. 

He moved in closer, their legs slipping together as Tony brought his own hands up to cradle Steve’s cheeks, deepening their kiss.

When their lips parted, Steve sighed happily. Neither of them moved away, just resting their foreheads together.

“Thank you Tony,” Steve murmured. “I love it so much.”

Tony smiled, running his thumb across Steve’s cheekbones. “Merry Christmas Steve. Let’s spend all of the next ones together.”


End file.
